Firefly Alpha

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July 3rd, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUSTIN, Texas, July 2, 2014 –

Firefly Space Systems, a ground-based, small satellite launch company, has officially announced its first launch vehicle, “Firefly Alpha.” This efficient, brand new vehicle is capable of carrying 400kg into low earth orbit and will be the world’s first dedicated light satellite launch vehicle in this mass class.

Following its official launch and seed funding in January, Firefly has aggressively moved forward in its mission to lower the prohibitively high costs of small satellite launches to Low Earth and Sun Synchronous Orbits with the goal of revolutionizing broadband data delivery and earth observation missions.

“What used to cost hundreds of millions of dollars is rapidly becoming available in the single digit millions,” said Firefly CEO Thomas Markusic. “We are offering small satellite customers the launch they need for a fraction of that, around $8 or 9 million – the lowest cost in the world. It’s far cheaper than the alternatives, without the headaches of a multi manifest launch.”

Simplified and optimized for least cost, and utilizing innovations such as a rethought engine design, Firefly has positioned itself to be the technological and cost effective solution for traditional manufacturers of small satellites for government agencies and earth observation customers. In addition, Firefly has set its sights on New-Space constellation customers, aiming to disrupt the data flow from traditional players.

“To say that this is an exciting and significant technological milestone would be an understatement,” said Michael Blum, co-founder of Firefly. “Until now, there existed virtually no dedicated launcher capacity in the small satellite industry to deliver their respective payloads to orbit. This announcement today just changed all that.”

ABOUT FIREFLY SPACE SYSTEMS

Firefly is a ground-based small satellite launch company with locations in Austin, TX and Hawthorne, CA. Our team consists of highly experienced aerospace engineers that have spent the better part of the past decade working at various New Space companies, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic.